on January 13, 2021

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As schools work on reopening, teachers’ unions push back

Several school districts have announced plans to bring elementary students back into the classroom, including the Minneapolis and St. Paul public schools that have been under a distance learning model since last spring. But local teachers' unions are pushing back, citing "safety concerns." An analysis by MDH, though, found "that there is no clear association between in-person learning and the county-wide proportion of COVID cases among children ages 5-19."...

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on January 07, 2021

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Parents less likely to say teachers’ unions have ‘positive impact’ on education

Written by Catrin Wigfall

in Unions

Teachers' unions continue to push back against school reopening efforts in the name of safety concerns, despite ever-growing research that schools are not super-spreaders and that school closures harm children. Parents' view of teachers' unions appears to be in decline....

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on December 17, 2020

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A former teachers’ union president as the next Secretary of Education?

Written by Catrin Wigfall

in Unions

Biden has promised to be a president for all Americans, but if he fills the U.S. Secretary of Education position with a former teachers' union president, what does that mean for families—particularly families of color—who choose schools of choice that teachers' unions so often oppose? ...

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on December 15, 2020

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Teacher group ‘demands freedom from standardized testing’

Written by Catrin Wigfall

in Unions

A group of educators calling themselves Teachers for Good Trouble organized a national teacher sick-out today (December 15) to "demand" that local officials cancel standardized testing this year. ...

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on December 14, 2020

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U.S. Department of Labor considers proposed rule to increase union transparency

Written by Catrin Wigfall

in Unions

The U.S. Department of Labor is considering a proposed rule that would modernize and increase the financial transparency of government unions. Private-sector unions are required to disclose high-quality information about their union activity and finances, and public-sector unions should be held to the same standard. ...

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on December 07, 2020

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Teachers’ union tweets ‘push to reopen schools is rooted in sexism, racism and misogyny’—then deletes

Written by Catrin Wigfall

in Unions

In a now-deleted tweet, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) claimed Sunday afternoon that "the push to reopen schools is rooted in sexism, racism and misogyny."...

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on November 24, 2020

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Here’s what the national teachers’ union will push for under Biden

Written by Catrin Wigfall

in Unions

The National Education Association (NEA) has released its 54-page "Policy Playbook"—a list of policies at the federal level the teachers' union wants the Biden administration to prioritize—that includes opposing all charter school expansion, barring federal funding to charter schools, opposing virtual charter schools, and packing the federal courts. ...

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on November 13, 2020

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No surprise: Biden’s education transition team includes several teachers’ union staff

Written by Catrin Wigfall

in Unions

President-elect Joe Biden has announced the names of his agency review team for the U.S. Department of Education. The team's 20 volunteers were selected to guide education efforts and ensure a "smooth transfer of power" from the Trump administration. ...

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on October 28, 2020

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Teachers’ union forces members to fund PAC, request your refund today

Written by Catrin Wigfall

in Unions

Each year, Education Minnesota charges member teachers and education support professionals (ESPs) $25.00 for its political action committee or PAC. If teachers or ESPs want to get a $25 refund to protect their constitutional right to not fund the union's PAC, they must request the refund every single year. The deadline for a PAC refund is October 31. ...

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on October 18, 2020

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MEA framed as distance learning-focused, but was it?

Written by Catrin Wigfall

in Unions

The teachers' union MEA conference was framed as being distance learning focused. But looking through the offered workshops, few addressed distance learning-related challenges. Maybe that's why so few teachers participated in the union's politically charged event? ...

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